Czechia's Euro 2024 Hopes Hang In Balance After Draw With Georgia, Says Schick
Patrik Schick believes Czechia's 1-1 draw with Georgia was insufficient but has vowed the team will strive to advance to the last 16 in their final group game at Euro 2024. Schick's equaliser ensured Czechia avoided a second successive defeat on Saturday, cancelling out Georges Mikautadze's penalty in an engaging match.
Schick, who netted five times at Euro 2020 to tie Cristiano Ronaldo at the top of the goalscoring charts, is now his country's all-time leading marksman at the Euros with six goals, surpassing Milan Baros. No player has matched his return across the last two editions of the tournament.
Czechia will be lamenting a host of missed chances after firing off 27 shots to Georgia's five, hitting the target 12 times—the most by any team to fail to win a Euros match on record (since 1980). They could have been hit with a sucker punch in second-half stoppage time, but Georgia's Saba Lobjanidze fired over when played clean through on goal.
"Of course, 1-1 is not enough for us. We were better, we had more chances," said Bayer Leverkusen striker Schick. "We were able to equalise, we were going at them but we were not able to score a second goal and in the end we made a stupid mistake and could have lost. We have a point. We have to play for everything in the last match."
The draw leaves both teams on one point with one game remaining. Czechia face Turkiye in their final Group F match, while Georgia take on Portugal. Czechia accumulated 3.11 expected goals (xG) to their opponents' 1.09, with Lobjanidze's late miss coming from an opportunity valued at 0.16 xG.
Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili commented on Lobjanidze's chance: "He was the one who wanted to score most of all, but it didn't work out. He needs to continue training and playing; he's a great football player and he will definitely score a goal in the coming matches."
Man of the Match Performance
Mamardashvili was named Man of the Match after making 11 saves, a tally that has only once been bettered in a Euros match since 1980, by Latvia's Alexanders Kolinko versus the Netherlands in 2004 (12).
"Of course, it was a very important moment, but he needs to keep going," Mamardashvili added. "He should be proud because we earned our first point. From above, everything seems easier, but it is very difficult to perform in those situations because you have less time than it seems. Whatever he did, he did it right, but he didn't score."
Schick's EURO record #EURO2024 | #GEOCZE
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